NEW BEDFORD — No. 19 Somerset Berkley Regional dug itself into a three-goal first period hole and it could never get itself out, as the Raiders eventually fell to 14th-ranked Eastern Athletic Conference rival Bishop Stang 4-0 in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 3 South Sectional hockey tournament on Tuesday night at Hetland Memorial Arena.

“We didn’t skate well at well tonight, especially during the first period,” said SB head coach Kevin Snyder, whose team finished the season with a 9-11-1 overall record. “That third goal they scored on us was really the back breaker. We kept fighting through it, though, but we just couldn’t generate any real scoring opportunities.”

With the win, the Spartans (12-8-1) will now advance to the first round, where they’ll face off against No. 3. Sacred Heart (14-5-1). The game is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Bog Ice Arena in Kingston.

Bishop Stang notched its first tally of the evening at 10:25 of the first period when senior center Luc Sauve blasted home a power play tally from the slot to make it a 1-0 affair. His freshman brother and right wing linemate Max Sauve recorded the assist.

The Spartan offensive onslaught continued just over two minutes later at 8:13 of the frame when sophomore defenseman Mike Sharbek’s deflected-shot goal boosted the home team’s lead to 2-0.

The period’s third goal happened with only 1:18 left when Max Sauve beat Raider senior goaltender Zach Raposa off a breakaway to put matters seemingly out of reach at 3-0.

Raposa was peppered throughout the first period, steering away 16 shots. He went on to stop 30 on the night.

“What a way for him to end his high school career,” Snyder said of Raposa’s performance. “Zach had a great game and really kept us in it.”

The second period went on to be a scoreless defensive battle between both sides, as neither team could generate any type of sustained offensive pressure.

The best scoring chance the Raiders had all night came at 13:07 of the third stanza, when senior center Mike Quinn had an open shot from point-blank right in front of the crease, but was stonewalled courtesy of a sprawling pad save by Spartan senior goalie Jesse Pavao.

Pavao stopped 13 total shots in securing the shutout.

A wrister from the right face-off circle by Spartan junior defenseman Tucker Mendonca at 6:38 of the third frame capped the scoring at 4-0.